The wolf and the seven kids
ManualiPc
Once upon a time there was a mother goat who had seven cute little kids.
One day she had to go to the market to buy some supplies. Before she left she called her children and said to them: "Stay indoors, take care and don't open the door to anybody because there is a very sly wolf around".
The kids told their mother they would take care, so she trusted to leave them all on their own.
On her way to the market she met a black goat who was an old friend and a chatterbox. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" the black goat asked her.
"I am going to the market. Forgive me if I can't stop to chat, but my seven kids are at home on their own and I am quite anxious".
She said goodbye to her friend and continued on her way.
Unluckily the sly wolf was resting just there behind a tree along the road and he heard everything.
"How unlucky" sneered the wolf. "I'll have a nice meal", and so he hurried off towards where the goats lived.
When he arrived there he was shocked to see all the doors and windows shut fast.
So he cleared his throat and shouted out "Little goats, little goats, open up it's mother back from the market".
But the little goats did not fall for it: "This is not our mother's sweet voice" they answered all together, "You are the bad wolf and we're not going to let you in".
The wolf went away humiliated but still thinking how to get to those goats. He decided to go and buy some licorice to soften his voice.
After he ate the licorice, he returned to the goats' house and with a soft voice he said "Little goats, little goats, open up it's mother back from the market".
The little goats thought it was their mother's voice but to make sure they asked the wolf to show them his paw through the window.
The wolf did that but when the little goats saw it, they said all together "This is not our mother's paw, hers are as white as snow, you are the bad wolf!".
The wolf got angry and went to the baker and said "Give me some flour to make my paws white. If you don't do as I say, I'll gobble you up".
The frightened baker gave him a sack of flour. The wolf put his paws inside and they became as white as milk.
Satisfied with the result, he returned to the little goats' house.
When he arrived there he knocked on the door and said "Little goats, little goats, open up it's mother back from the market".
Hearing such a sweet voice, the little goats once again asked the wolf to show them his paw through the window.
When they saw it was as white as snow, they thought it really was their mother behind the door.
But when they opened the door, the wolf was there and he leapt straight into the house.
The little goats ran in all directions but the wolf was quicker than them and he gobbled them up in one mouthful.
Only one of them got away because he hid in the grand-father clock.
When their mother returned home she noticed something was terribly wrong.
The door was wide open, inside there was a great mess and she could hear crying coming from inside.
When she entered she found one of her kids in tears near the big clock and she asked him what happened.
When her kid had finished telling her what happened she said "Let’s go and find the wolf, if he swallowed them all in one mouthful, we might be able to save your little brothers".
Before leaving she picked up a pair of scissors, thick thread and a needle. Shortly after, they found the wolf fast asleep and snoring underneath a big tree.
Something was moving inside the wolf’s big tummy, so the mother goat delicately cut it open.
The little goats came out quickly one after another, all safe and sound and happy to embrace their mother.
Mother goat then said: "now my children run to the river nearby and pick up one large stone each and bring it to me".
The little goats did as they were told and they quickly came back with the stones. The mother filled the wolf’s tummy with the stones and then sewed it back up.
When she finished, she went back home with all her kids.
When the wolf awoke, he felt he had a terribly heavy stomach and he was very thirsty.
He went to the river to drink but when he stooped to drink, the weight of the stones toppled him over and he fell in the water.
As he couldn’t swim, he was very frightened and once he got back to shore he promised he would never eat goats again because they are difficult to digest and as heavy as stones.
So the wolf never bothered the goats and their mother and they all lived happily ever after.
